


Acceptance Can Change Things

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: The Care and Handling of Silver Chickabos [5]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chikabos verse, Gen, LifeStream Shenanigans, M/M, Remnants are Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 08:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12790923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: "I'm guessing Cait Sith didn't foresee this,""If I had, ye bet yer spikey a-""They're kids, Cait Sith, so don't even think about it."





	Acceptance Can Change Things

**Author's Note:**

> There's a gap in the fics but never fear, I haven't forgotten about the Chikabo 'verse! I just needed to find Nanaki and Cait Sith first and then the Nibel 'verse took over. Now I'm here and there is fic. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Cloud stretched with a squeak until his fingers brushed Barret's chest hair and he hummed instead. They'd spent a week already in Cosmo and the kids all loved it. There weren't many children in Cosmo, at least not in recent years, and all of them had been accepted without so much as a peep. 

He snuggled closer to Barret, smiling to himself as Barret's arms tightened a fraction to keep him close. 

"Too early, Spikey..." his lover groaned against his hair. 

"It's almost noon, _liebster_.*" Cloud countered as the LifeStream in the Canyon helpfully provided the time when he reached for it. 

"How the hell...?" 

"The 'Stream, Barret. It's stronger here." He sleepily answered as he traced Nibel runes against bare skin. 

"Right. Forgot you and Vincent still talk to it." Barret rumbled from where Cloud had pillowed his cheek. "Are we talkin' to Nanaki 'bout that windmill gear that's broken?"

"Mmm, I got it. Just have to fish my Restore Materia out of my item pouch." Cloud said as he slowly shifted to straddle Barret's hips and purred. "I've got a better idea though." 

"You read my mind..."

* * *

Cloud frowned at the gear, dug around for his Materia and cast it bare-handed. The gear fixed itself before his and Nanaki's eyes. He lifted it, his muscles working smoothly enough that Barret wolf-whistled. Cloud kicked off the ground with the heel of his boot before he landed delicately on the windmill's walkway. 

He fixed it and motioned that they could start it again. The enormous blades whirred to life, causing Cloud to jump down and fall into a somersault to distribute the force he'd generate. 

He dusted himself off with Barret's help, tugging Barret down for a kiss by his puffy vest. 

"You alright, babe?" Barret asked after they stopped with a quiet -snik-. "You've been kinda..." 

"I'm taking advantage," Cloud admitted with a flushed face. "The kids don't exactly leave us in peace long enough for, well, y'know." 

Barret grinned at that, lifting him up to steal several deep kisses. "I can't believe I'm thanking **Cait Sith** , of all things, for a more active love life." 

"It helps that he's not afraid of them." He confessed. "Loz, Yaz and 'Daj all deserve someone or something like that in their lives that aren't us." 

"You truly are parents," Nanaki teased as he reappeared, his tail's flame showing his amusement as it flickered more red than normal. 

"Nanaki!" Cloud chided automatically and then laughed when the firewolf chuckled. "Alright, alright, so Barret and I have been busy." 

"Raising four cubs is tiring work, even if you have help." Nanaki guessed dryly. 

"One eleven-year-old, one eight-year-old, a seven-year-old and a six-year-old." Barret corrected as the gears in his metal arm clicked. "Marlene and Yazoo were almost born on the same year but Yazoo was a few months early." 

"Truly?" Nanaki glanced back along the trail as if to confirm the ages. 

"... Hojo _accelerated_ their growth the way he did mine." Cloud added sourly. "Their physical ages don't match their mental ones, not like mine does. It's a... touchy point for the kids... and me. We don't talk too much about it other than to tell them to be extra careful with Marlene." 

Nanaki paused at the bluff just before the town and sat down on his haunches. "Most of AVALANCHE already knows?" 

"Teef and Yuffie were told, Cid 'n Vince figured it out on their own and we've known since the kids took Cloud to the abandoned lab for their paperwork. Some lab under Edge, if you can believe it. The kids destroyed all of it with a Firaga VI." Barret sighed as he wrapped an arm around Cloud for support. 

"Destroyed?" The surprise was enough to coax Barret to continue in Cloud's place. 

"What the kids didn't break outright, Cloud trashed with Tsuguri. Thought he went crazy but apparently the whole place smelled like it'd been dipped in the kids's blood." 

"... I fully understand." Nanaki finally voiced after several moments of Cloud flexing his hands in order to calm down. "It is good they have you, Cloud." 

"Yeah, I'm glad they do." He managed hoarsely.

* * *

"I'm guessing Cait Sith didn't foresee this," Cloud made a crack at Reeve as Kadaj hugged the AI close, looking for all the world like the six-year-old he actually was. 

"If I had, ye bet yer spikey a-" Cloud pressed a finger to the AI's lips.

"They're kids, Cait Sith, so don't even think about it." He murmured softly but with a wordless threat in his gaze. «Did you have a good morning, little one?»

«The kitty talks and people are nice and... Can we stay here?» Wide green kitten eyes begged. «No one's scared of us here, not like Rocket, not like Edge...» 

«Kadaj...» Cloud scooped the youngest Remnant up and pressed his forehead to Kadaj's in a gesture of solidarity. «We have a home.» Tears welled up and it struck like a bolt of lightning. «We can visit with Uncle Cid and I need to ask the 'Stream something about the three of you.» 

«Are you gonna to talk to Her?» Kadaj whispered as he clung to Cloud's shirt. 

«Mm-hmm. Do you mind hanging out with the kitty some more?» he asked gently. 

"Okay. Kitty, can you play hide-n-seek?" 

Cait Sith caved pretty quickly in the face of Kadaj's almost-tears and lip wibble. Honestly, that cat...

* * *

Barret, Cloud and Nanaki descended into the deep canyon caves where Cloud knew the LifeStream was at its strongest on the Eastern continent. 

He sat down beside the 'Stream, closed his eyes and waited patiently. 

When he opened his eyes, it was to see Zack lifting Aerith up and twirling her around the field full of flowers. 

'I think we have company.' Aerith said as Zack set her down. 

'Spikey!' Cloud got tackled by Zack, glowing violet eyes taking him in and his best friend grinning. 'Soooo, what brings you to the Great Beyond, Cloud?' 

"It's... about the Remnants." He replied. 

'Oh the mini-Sephs! Yeah, we figured you'd be by about them sooner rather than later.' Zack nodded sagely and then whined when Aerith toppled him off of Cloud with a hip-check. 

"What do you mean... sooner?" Cloud pinned Zack in place with the same stare that it took to get the triplets into a bath. 

'You want to give them bodies that match their real ages.' Aerith guessed. 

"I... Yeah. Is it even possible?" 

'It is,' Zack hummed thoughtfully. 

'You'll have to bring them back to Cosmo once a year to refresh it but yes, it should work. Your idea of dipping them in the 'Stream wasn't necessarily wrong. You're going to have to fully submerge them one-by-one.' Aerith continued. 

'Five minutes a piece, Spikey. Any more and they'll be joining us here.' 

"Thank you." 

'Hey, don't forget to visit us after you're done, okay?' 

"Of course." He murmured and closed his eyes, feeling Barret's chest at his back before Aerith whispered. 

'I approve, by the way, of your relationship with Barret. He's good for you.' 

Cloud hummed at that. 

"Whatcha hummin' for, Spikey?" Barret teased as he helped Cloud up off of the damp ground. 

"Aerith... said you were good for me." He had to shake the state the 'Stream always left him in but Barret was warm and supportive. 

"Aww, hell, Cloud, you can't _say that kind of stuff_ and then pass out on me."

* * *

Cloud felt like someone had planted a ShinRa tank on top of his chest but when he cracked open a glowing blue eye, he got his answer in the form of his lover and all four kids piled on top of him. 

He groaned softly and three of the five were instantly upright. Marlene and Yazoo scrambled for the cup of water and Loz stuck in the bamboo straw as Kadaj slept with Cait Sith snuggled close. 

"Here, big brother." Loz offered him the straw and Cloud drank until he pushed the straw away with his tongue. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah. Communicating like that just takes a lot out of me. I'll be fine." He was quick to reassure, knowing that of all the Remnants, Loz's abandonment issues were the heaviest. "I need to talk to you and your brothers. It's... important." 

"Should I wake Dad?" 

"This is something everyone needs to know but I've got it. Wake 'Daj for me?" Cloud bargained. "Barret..." He crooned softly, pressing kisses to Barret's scruffy cheek and giggling when Barret only returned them with a soft, sleepy grumble. "Barret, up, the kids are getting into your stash of MoogleMellows." 

Barret's eyes snapped open at that. "Better not be," 

All four of the kids burst out laughing at that. 

"Okay, now that we're all up, time for me to tell you why I was talking to Aerith." Five pairs of eyes widened at that. "I can make it so you look like your real ages." Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj sat in a circle and their hands were fluttering like mad as they changed hand signs in seconds. Cloud waited patiently before the three nodded at once and turned back to Cloud. "Well?" 

"Yes," Loz said with relief. 

"Yes," Yazoo agreed easily, eyes nearly closed with the contentment he radiated. 

"No." Kadaj barked, fear lingering as he looked up. 

"Alright." He agreed and watched as Kadaj wavered between personalities. 

"That's it? I said no and you're okay with that?" Kadaj prodded as he hugged Cait Sith all the tighter. 

"You're well within your rights to say no." Cloud reminded him. "Can I ask why?" 

He had a feeling—"I can't protect myself if I'm little."—which Kadaj only confirmed. 

"That's a fair reason." Barret murmured. "You don't think we'll protect you? That Nanaki and the others won't?" 

Kadaj burst into tears at that, burrowing against Cloud's front, shoulder heaving as he spoke between crying, "I-hic!-wanna-hic!-but-" There was a deep breath and 'Daj whispered the last piece. "'m _**scared**_." 

"I know," Cloud soothed as he rubbed tiny circles on Kadaj's back. "Change can be scary. I know that you've looked out for each other for a long time. I won't hold it against you if you want to stay as you are; all three of you."

* * *

Loz went first, Cloud gently lowering the eldest into the 'Stream. 

"Start the timer." 

What seemed like five minutes stretched and yawed ahead even as Loz's body gave the occasional jerk. 

"Five minutes are up, Spike!" 

When Cloud pulled Loz out of the LifeStream, his baby brother was a lot smaller. 

"... Cloud?" Loz asked and Cloud waded to the canyon cave's shore. 

"How do you feel?" 

"Lighter? And small. It's not a bad small though; it's like I'm supposed to be." Loz hummed thoughtfully. "Little cold though." 

"We've got towels," Cloud wrapped a green one around Loz that nearly dwarfed him but Loz only sank into it with a grateful sigh. "Better?" 

"It's cold down here if you're not a grown up." Loz admitted as he gathered the towel up and leaned on Barret. 

"Magic isn't my best thing but I'll see what I can do." Barret responded as a Fira II lit up the cave. 

"Yazoo?" 

Yazoo went down as willingly as Loz, only the occasional jerk as his body shrank to the appropriate size. 

"Who's the dark-haired man?" 

"That's... Zack. He was my best friend." Cloud never lied to the Remnants if he could help it. 

"He's nice." The simple comment made Cloud cradle him close and settle him in next to Barret and Loz with a pink towel. 

"Kadaj?" Cloud waited until the youngest Remnant looked at him. "Remember, you can stay in that body if you want." 

"I'm good," Kadaj held out his arms and Cloud waded back to dip the youngest Remnant. There were no jerky movements and Kadaj came back up much, much smaller but he looked happy. "Zack plays hide-'n-go-seek!" 

"He's the best at it, hmm?" 

"Yeah!" 

Cloud wrapped Kadaj in a yellow towel and murmured to the LifeStream, "I'll be back once the kids are settled." 

'Take all the time you need, Cloud.' Aerith replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, complain, ect. 
> 
> *liebster
> 
> German/Nibel for love (endearment)
> 
> Corrected as of 6/7/18


End file.
